Yovanna
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 324 living Americans carry the first name Yovanna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yovanna today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yovanna births was 2001 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yovanna. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
324
~ 1 in 1,057,884 Americans
Peak year
2001
27 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#17,570
Tracked since 1974
Census
Yovanna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 492 people with the first name Yovanna, which placed it at #20,854 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,854
National first-name rank
People counted
492
492 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
93.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yovanna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yovanna is Hispanic at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.4%) and White (2.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Yovanna described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Yovanna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.7% · 461
- Black or African American2.4% · 12
- White2.2% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
- Two or more races0.4% · 2
Popularity
Yovanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yovanna from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 120 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yovanna by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Yovanna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yovannas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yovanna
The given name Yovanna has its origins in the Greek language and culture, with roots tracing back to ancient times. It is a feminine variant of the name Ioanna, which is derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious."
In the early Christian era, the name Ioanna gained prominence due to its association with St. John the Baptist and St. John the Apostle, who were revered figures in the New Testament. The name was widely adopted among early Christian communities throughout the Mediterranean region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yovanna can be found in the writings of the 4th-century historian Eusebius of Caesarea, who mentioned a woman named Ioanna as a follower of Christ. Additionally, the name appears in various Byzantine and medieval Greek manuscripts, further solidifying its historical presence.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Yovanna. One of the most renowned figures was Yovanna of Aragon (1455-1517), a Spanish princess and queen consort of Ferdinand II of Aragon. She played a significant role in the unification of Spain and the patronage of the arts during the Renaissance era.
Another prominent Yovanna was Yovanna of Navarre (1370-1437), a French princess and duchess consort of Brittany, known for her influential role in the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
In the realm of literature, Yovanna of Constantinople (c. 1240-1307) was a Byzantine poet and scholar who contributed to the preservation of ancient Greek literature during the waning years of the Byzantine Empire.
The name Yovanna also found its way into religious circles, with Yovanna de la Cruz (1481-1534), a Spanish Roman Catholic nun and mystic, gaining recognition for her spiritual writings and teachings.
Lastly, Yovanna of Castile (1479-1555), also known as Juana la Loca, was a Spanish princess and queen consort of Philip I of Castile. Her tumultuous life and struggles with mental illness have been the subject of numerous historical accounts and literary works.
While these examples showcase the historical presence and significance of the name Yovanna, it is important to note that this list is not exhaustive, as the name has been adopted and embraced by individuals across various cultures and time periods.
People
Yovanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yovanna as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yovanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yovanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 324 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yovanna going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,057,884 US residents.
Is Yovanna a common name?
We classify Yovanna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 333 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yovanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Yovanna was 2001, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yovanna is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yovanna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 492 people with the name Yovanna, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,854 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Yovanna in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Yovanna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yovanna appears almost entirely female. Of the 485 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Yovanna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yovanna is Hispanic at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.4%) and White (2.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Yovanna most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Yovanna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (461 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Yovanna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yovanna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yovanna in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Yovanna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yovanna in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Yovanna can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Yovanna?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.